A Mentor's Guilt
by Wolfwind97
Summary: Request from Boo. Halt suffers from guilt at the fact that his apprentice will never be able to continue his life as a Ranger.


**A/N: So, this is late, but this is a request from an anonymous user called Boo. I hope you enjoy it! This took so long to figure out!**

**(Halt)**

Abelard and I went to the familiar cabin, my cabin, after a short trip to the town to get healing herbs from a healer. Sadness lingered in the air around the cabin and in my heart at the news I had received only a short time ago. I didn't want to believe what the healer had said, but I knew it was true. Deep down in my heart, I knew I would have to accept the unfair fact.

I gave Abelard food and watered him, then done the same with the other one. The sight of my the horse filled me with another wave of sadness. _'How am I going to explain to him?' _ I wondered as I walked away from the two horses and silently entered the cabin. I closed the door behind me and paused in the doorway.

"Halt?" I heard a familiar voice question.

I sighed and walked into the room where the familiar person was.

His gaze met mine, "Well?" The seventeen year old boy had bandages wrapped across his head, chest, stomach, and left leg, the lingering pain evident in his eyes. "Halt, whatever it is, please, tell me. I know you went to talk to the healer. You know you can't hide the truth from me forever."

I bowed my head, knowing what my apprentice said was true. I sat down in a chair beside the bed where the wounded teenager lay. "I'm sorry... One of your ribs punctured your lung. If you strain too much, your lung will collapse completely. If that happened, it wouldn't be long before the other collapsed. You will never fully recover..."

"What are you saying?" The teen asked, fear and sorrow in his eyes.

"You will never be able to become a Ranger." I stated, the bitterness of those words filled me with sadness.

The teen stared at me for a moment and silence filled the room. I knew my apprentice was shattered at the fact that he would have to give up on becoming a Ranger, but I would rather see him a live citizen than a dead Ranger. Tears slipped from his eyes for a moment, but he wiped them away. "I can't give up on being a Ranger, Halt. Please, don't make me! I'll be fine after I a few months, then I can go back to training and missions... Please, don't take this away from me!"

I bowed my head, tears dripping from my eyes as I tried my best to hold them back. "You'll die if you try, I can't let you do that."

"Halt, please!"

"I'm sorry, but I'm not going to allow you to die like that. You can live as a citizen, but not as a Ranger." I told the determined young man. "You've done well. You can stop fighting now and have a normal life."

My apprentice argued, "I don't want normality! I want to fight to protect everyone!" Tears streamed down his face and his words were heavy with sorrow. "I'm nothing if I'm not a Ranger... Don't you understand?"

"It's already been decided. The document informing the commander of your withdrawal from the corps has already been sent. You'll get an honorable leave and be allowed to live in the town." I stated.

"Please... I don't care if I die, I just want to be a Ranger. Please... I beg you, don't make me quit." I looked at my apprentice.

His eyes were red from the tears that streamed down his cheeks. His eyes pleaded for the opportunity to have a chance of becoming a Ranger, but I knew it would never be able to happen. He knew it, too, he just refused to believe it. He saw the sadness in my eyes and knew the decision was truly made. I watched as my apprentice bowed his head and I gently rested my hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry things turned out this way. It's my fault, I shouldn't have left you alone and scouted ahead. I should have took you with me..." I said, guilt coursing through my veins.

Through the sorrow, I heard him say, "Don't say that. It's not your fault. I should have been more careful. I let the swordman get too close to me." Slowly, uncertainly, my apprentice hugged me. I was shocked for a moment, but I returned it as the teen cried into my shoulder. As a mentor, I had failed. I wasn't able to protect my student. As a Ranger, I failed. I let somebody close to me get hurt. I failed my apprentice.

Briefly, I remembered what happened.

_**(Flashback)**_

_It was supposed to be an easy mission. Follow a group of bandits and drive them away from the territory. We had remained still for hours, watching the bandits and their movements. We had to ambush them at some point. "Gilan, keep an eye on them, I'm going to scout ahead for an ambush area."_

_He nodded, "Okay."_

_Silently, I moved ahead. I was careful to not any noise and to blend in with my surroundings. However, an agonizing scream erupted from the path behind me. My heart froze and I ran toward the noise, my bow in my hand with an arrow on the string. I ran to where I had left Gilan, knowing it was him that I heard. _

_I stopped when I saw Gilan standing in the middle of the bandits with his saxe knives drawn. Blood streamed from his mouth and he was having a hard time breathing, but he still fought against the bandits. When one charged, Gilan stabbed him with a knife, but not before the attacker put a gash into my apprentice's leg. Gilan fell to his knees. _

_Another bandit charged, then fell with an arrow in his back. The other bandits were confused and they looked around. I drew my bow and let another arrow go through the chest of another bandit. Soon, all of the bandits lay dead in the road. I ran to Gilan, who was on his back, coughing up blood and struggling to breathe. I crouched next to him and saw the wound on his chest and stomach. I pressed my hand against the large wound to stop the bleeding and felt the broken ribs. _

_"I can't breathe." Gilan struggled to say. His chest rose and fell unsteadily and quickly as he tried to inhale oxygen. Blood streamed from his nose and mouth. _

_I knew I had to get him help as soon as possible. I gently picked him up and carried him to where out horses were. I put him on his horse and made sure he wouldn't be able to fall off. By that time, he was already unconscious, pale, and sweating. Quickly, I took him to the nearest town to find a healer, praying he would be alright._

_**(End Flahback)**_

Months later, I watched him get on his horse. "I'll come visit, if that's okay."

I nodded, "Yeah, it's okay."

"Well, this is goodbye for now it seems." He stated.

I nodded again, "So it seems."

"Goodbye, Halt. Thank you for everything." My apprentice stated.

I swallowed the lump that had formed in my throat, "Goodbye, Gilan." I watched as tears formed in his eyes, then my first apprentice turned and rode toward the town. I remained where I was, aware of the sadness in my heart and the tears dripping down my face as I watched Gilan disappear in the distance, leaving his life of a Ranger behind him. I had to remind myself that it was for the best, but the sorrow was still heavy on my heart.

***A Few Years Later***

I remember seeing the look on Gilan's face the day we set out to follow the bandits. His eyes were full of determination, just like the ones I was seeing now. A fifteen year old boy stood in front of me, waiting to see if any Craftmasters would take him to be their apprentice. Nobody needed him. Before I knew it, he had become my second apprentice. I swore I wasn't going to fail him like I did Gilan. I was going to teach Will everything I knew about being a Ranger and protect him like a father would a son.


End file.
